Ruben Amorim has pinned the blame on Manchester United’s underperforming players down the years after Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s latest round of job cuts.
In a statement released on Monday, United chief executive Omar Berrada said that employees had been informed regarding a fresh round of redundancies as part of the club’s “transformation plan”.
Up to 200 people will be made redundant as part of the sweeping changes made by billionaire Ratcliffe, who has been in charge of football operations at Old Trafford since May 2024 following his £1.4billion investment for a 27.7 per cent stake in the club.
Responding to a reporter’s question about the redundancies, Amorim admitted the club’s players have to accept their part of responsibility in what has happened: “That is clear and we have to, of course, address all the problems in the club,” he said.
“But one important piece of this moment is to understand how we get [into] this situation, and it has to do a lot with the lack of success of the football team. We are the engine. I just want to help improve the team, improve the players to have success.
“It’s always hard for everybody, they see their friends and teammates losing their job, again we have to focus on what I can do to help the club in this moment and we as a club have to understand what we did wrong to get to this situation. We have to think of solutions in this moment.”
Amorim has overseen a dreadful run of form since taking over in November, with United losing eight of their last 13 Premier League games. It has seen United slide to 15th in the Premier League table, although they are 13 points clear of the relegation zone.
There could be more cuts on the way with United almost certain to miss out on Champions League qualification for next season. Amorim’s side may also struggle to qualify for the Europa League or Conference League, which would provide additional prize money and TV income.
Ratcliffe has faced scrutiny over his decision to target the club’s workforce when the likes of Casemiro – who earns a reported £300,000-a-week salary – has been left out of the team in recent weeks.
United also paid out an eye-watering £14.1m in compensation to sack former boss Erik ten Hag and ex-sporting director Dan Ashworth, with the latter appointed by Ratcliffe before being unceremoniously dumped by the club five months later.
And despite their rising costs and losses of over £27m, the club also committed a £25m transfer fee to sign Patrick Dorgu from Lecce during the January transfer window.
The cuts made will also include scrapping free lunches for staff as INEOS implement their cost-cutting measures to “improve the club’s financial sustainability and enhance operational efficiency”. The changes have drawn heavy criticism from pundits and former players, especially when considering the club axed 250 workers only seven months ago.
CEO Berrada defended the ‘hard choices’ made by the United hierarchy, which has also seen them cut club icon and ambassador Sir Alex Ferguson from their payroll.
“We have a responsibility to put Manchester United in the strongest position to win across our men’s, women’s and academy teams,” he said. “These hard choices are necessary to put the club back on a stable financial footing. We have lost money for the past five consecutive years. This cannot continue.
“Our two main priorities as a club are delivering success on the pitch for our fans and improving our facilities. We cannot invest in these objectives if we are continuously losing money.”
